Xbox Free Play Days: sports sims, Ark and Black Ops 7 dated

Table of Content

Xbox has detailed its year-end Free Play Days lineup, highlighting a weekend window for members and a pair of extended trials around it. From December 18-21, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members can try five titles spanning sports, survival and narrative adventure. A separate Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 trial continues through December 22, while Fallout 76 remains free to access for all Xbox members until December 23. The selection mixes current sports installments and genre standouts with platform-specific notes for each.

What’s playable this weekend (Dec 18-21)

The four-day window focuses on current releases and one modern remake. Availability and features reflect the official Xbox announcement and each game’s platform listing.

NBA 2K26

• Optimized for Xbox Series X|S
• Quick matches via Play Now with current NBA teams
• New-gen MyCareer storyline progression
• Team-building in MyTeam and open-world play in The City

WWE 2K25

• Optimized for Xbox Series X|S
• Latest entry in the wrestling series available during the weekend window

PGA Tour 2K25

• Optimized for Xbox Series X|S
• MyCareer with access to golf’s Majors
• MyPlayer customization and multiplayer modes

Ark: Survival Ascended

Optimized for Xbox Series X|S with Xbox Play Anywhere support, this reimagining of Ark leverages Unreal Engine 5. Players awaken on a mysterious island, gather resources, and confront dinosaurs in a modernized survival loop built for the current hardware generation.

The Forgotten City (Console and PC)

Optimized for Xbox Series X|S with Xbox Play Anywhere. The time-loop mystery sends you 2,000 years into the past to investigate the collapse of an underground Roman city. Its structure emphasizes moral choices, layered conversations and puzzle-solving to unravel the city’s fate. Available on console and PC during the weekend window.

Extended trials outside the weekend

Two separate access periods stretch beyond the core Free Play Days. Content is limited to the modes listed by Xbox and runs on set dates.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 – Multiplayer and Zombies

• Trial window: December 16-22
• Zombies and Multiplayer only with a curated selection of content
• Includes remastered Nuketown 2025, Zombies’ Ashes of the Damned, the seasonal Sleighjacked map, and the Holiday Havoc moshpit
• Optimized for Xbox Series X|S and supports Smart Delivery

Fallout 76 – Free for all Xbox members

• Access window: December 16-23
• Introduces the Burning Springs desert biome in post-nuclear Ohio
• Features an intelligent Super Mutant, the Rust King, who commands Deathclaws and raiders
• Play solo or in co-op while exploring, questing and tackling Wasteland encounters

Key dates at a glance

Here is a concise summary of the access windows and requirements to help plan your sessions. The list reflects the official availability and mode details provided by Xbox.

Read also our article: Cyberpunk 2077 lands in PS Plus catalog – what’s included on PS4 and PS5

Why it matters

The lineup covers five weekend titles plus two extended trials, giving players clear date windows to sample sports, survival and shooter content. With mode-specific access for Black Ops 7 and a weeklong window for Fallout 76, there is room to plan sessions around busy schedules and test-drive major releases before committing more time.